JOHN MARTYN: BLESS THE WEATHER (ISLAND ILPS 9167)
JOHN MARTYN'S albums never cease to amaze me. You listen to them for the first time and you are prepared to write them off as being too indefined and too loose. Listen to them half a dozen times and you are convinced you are hearing the best album you've ever had in your possession. This one is an example. It's a masterpiece on which John shows that he can manage quite well without the production talents of Joe Boyd and the all star American back up team as appeared on Stormbringer. John Wood has produced this album, and Danny Thompson, Tony Reeves, Roger Powell, Ian Whiteman, Richard Thompson, Smiley De Jonnes and Mrs. Martyn are the back up team. John continues to stay several steps in front of his contemporaries with tracks like Glistening Glyndebourne on which we see the original approach he chooses to exploit the guitar. From beginning to end the album is a constant source of energy - a constant rhythmic function as in Walk To The Water, Head And Heart, Bless The Weather and Just Now, are as melodic as John ever gets and the old hit Singing In The Rain, beautifully interpreted provides a fitting climax. - J.G.

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This review was published in Sounds of 27 November 1971. Photo provided by John Neil Munro.